Maximilian's Experiments
by The-Serene-Mage
Summary: A Commission for Zafnova on DeviantART. Maximilian experiments with a new style of potion over the course of several days. trial and error follow, as long as a need to restock his reagents after all of his testing. Please R&R and don't forget this viti the talented Zafnova on DeviantART.


This was a commission for Zafnova on DeviantART of her character, Maximillian.

* * *

_**Day 44:**__ The concoction was nearing its final stages. All that is left is to find a suitable test subject. Being plagued by nightmares for the past few days has helped with the production of the concoction, but I fear that it won't be to my liking. I guess I will have to see how it comes out when I test it._

Maximillian let out a heavy sigh as he placed a ratty old quill in a near empty inkwell, shutting a well used leather bound journal, fastening the straps before turning to a table housing a plethora of Alchemy tools and reagents. In the center was a crystal vial with bright green liquid fizzing like acid, an acrid scent rising from the mouth of the vial. With a frown, Max picked up the vial and swirled the liquid inside, sprinkling blacken leaves into the vial, causing the liquid within to bubble violently, shifting from bright green to a deep violet. Max let out a huff of air as he set the potion back down, moving to jot down a few notes on a piece of parchment stained with the blood of several herbs he smashed on a near daily basis. Maximillian placed his hands on the worktable, reading over his notes.

He scowled for a short moment before pushing himself away from the table, turning back to the vial to pour some of the now bubbling liquid in a smaller beaker then sealing it with a stopper in it and packing it with other potions placed inside of his coat. With a brief tug of his coat, Maximillian let out a hefty sigh and made his way out of his lab, grabbing his hat which was hanging by the exit, adjusting it until it was comfortable before locking the door to his lab under a tight lock and key. It was time to test his most recent work on whom or whatever he could find.

* * *

**Day 48:**_ I have concluded my tests. It seems that each and every one of my concoctions have different effects on my test subjects. The green potion caused my first test subject, who was a fellow carrying the Worgen Curse, to break out in hives and a rash. But my gnome test subject just became really itchy. The purple potion made the Worgen nauseous, but the gnome inherited a massive migraine. The yellow potion caused the Worgen to fall unconscious, but the gnome went asinine. And finally, the blue potion caused mass bleeding from every orifice of the Worgen; the gnome's liver however began to fail. He's not doing too well and I had to put him out of his misery. The Worgen recovered just enough for me to combine all the potions and test them on him. The result caused him to become nothing more than a pile of bones and flesh. This is exactly what I was looking for. I still have more of the potions left over; it is time to brew a fresh batch._

Max pinched the bridge of his nose as he fought his exhaustion. Another bout of Insomnia kept him from sleeping, but his body demanded that he rest. Taking a deep breath and letting it out as a sigh, he resumed crushing a mixture of dried herbs with a mortar and pestle until they were nothing more than a pile of fine dust. He carefully poured the dust into a vial of clear liquid that lit up like crimson lightning on contact with the herbs before bubbling violently. Max let a sadistic grin form on his face as he swirled the potion, causing it to shift from crimson to violet, to green, blue, and yellow as the herbs mixed into the liquid. The smirk vanished as the potion turned black and started to smoke. Knowing what was going to happen next, Max tossed to potion away with a growl of annoyance, where it blew up once it landed off in a far corner, the soft clanking of falling glass filling the silence of his lab. Picking up another vial to restart the process, it came to his attention that he was out of one of the required herbs. Max took a deep breath and placed the vial down, making his way over to a tall shelf where he kept his stock.

The bottles of several extracts and essences clanked together as he dug through his stock in search of the herb he needed. After going through three shelves he came across a metal tin where he found just the right amount of his required herb. He had to go out and gather reagents sometime soon, his stock of herbs were running dangerously low, but his stock of essences and extracts were flourishing. Speaking of extracts and essences, Max got to thinking that maybe an extract of dragon blood would help keep his concoction stable, it was potent enough to stabilize almost anything. He returned to his gaze to the shelf, scanning the vials in search of the reagent he needed. His silver eyes rested on a vial of viscous crimson liquid on a high shelf surrounded by numerous bottles of draconic essences.

He had to make sure it wasn't blood of a red dragon before he used it however. Red dragon blood acted as a nullifying agent rather than a stabilizing agent. It was the blood of a black dragon he needed. There was only one way to tell, he had to add a small droplet of the dragon blood to one of his acidic plague potions, if it turned clear, it was red dragon blood, if it fizzed, it was black dragon blood. Max made his way back to his worktable, pulling a small pipette from inside his coat to take a sample of the dragon blood. He placed a droplet into a small Petri dish before carefully pouring some of his potion into the dish, watching it fizzle and bubble once it made contact. Max's sadistic grin returned.

Max didn't waste any time resuming his task at perfecting his concoction. He crushed the herbs into a fine powder and before adding it to the vial which he filled with the base agent, he dropped three droplets of the dragon blood and swirling it around to mix integrate it. Once the components were mixed, max slowly poured the crushed herbs into the liquid once more, twirling the vial to mix it, watching it shift various colors as it mixed. He let out a huff of air that sounded more like a chuckle as he grinned when his potion didn't start to bubble violently. As he watched the liquid gently bubble within, something caught his eye. As he turned his attention to it, he frowned when he noticed it was the light of dawn.

* * *

**Day 53:** _The dragon's blood improved the concoction's quality. It not only kept it stable when the reagents integrated, but it also increase the potency ten-fold. The concoction reduced all my test subjects to bones faster than the original batch I tested five days ago. I'm still not finished with my testing, I have to create more, but I need to restock my reagents. That would be a joyful experience I'm sure._

Max went through his entire lab, writing on some parchment with an old quill. If he was going to restock his reagents for his recent potion, why not restock the rest of his lab for future experiments? He currently examined the levels of his essences in a dusty storage closet, muttering their names and the percentages of their levels. When he was finished, he shut the closet and locked it tight before moving towards a large shelf where a plethora of odd herbs grew from clay pots of all shapes and sizes. He checks the status of the soil within each pot, writing down what fertilizers he needed for each plant. He grimaced when the herbs that required the strongest fertilizers since they were the hardest to get. He would have to plan a lengthy journey to obtain those. He wasn't in the mood for travel; he had so much work to do and couldn't abandon his lab just yet.

He scratched a few notes next to the fertilizers he needed with alternatives that he could get nearby, he'd just have to give double the amount to his herbs to match the strength of the ones he needed. Next on his inventory check was his supplies. Max was in a constant need for vials and his other tools since his line of work made him go through them faster than he did his herbs and reagents. He had to contact someone special to get the laced vials he needed. There was no way he was going to spend a fortune buying them. Just one laced vial cost twenty-thousand gold. He could buy years worth of supplies with that kind of money.

At last he was finished with inventory. As much as he loved to experiment, taking inventory was the worst. It took up a large chunk of time he could have used to work with his concoctions, but alas, it was required lest he run out of the supplies required for his work. Max rolled up his list and tucked it into a pocket on the inside of his coat, checking for his money purse before doing a quick once over of his lab. Everything was set. Max adjusted his hat and walked out the door, locking it behind him as he walked down a series of hallways and stairs until he left his home.

* * *

While out on his errands, Max had found some perfect test subjects. They seemed to be foolhardy adventurers as they flaunted their "skills" in front of the admirers. One was a human, the other a Draenei. As Max picked through the items at a stall, he contemplated on how he was going to get them to agree to his testing. He always carried potions with him, but these adventurers weren't mere peasants, they were tough and had semblance of brains. They weren't going to fall for his usually choice of words that Max used on his other test subjects. He remembers that he carried a sleeping potion, but he used that when his insomnia and nightmares became too difficult to bear. Max dropped a few coins in the merchant's hands and subtly shrugged as he pulled out a vial containing a faintly glowing ice-blue potion.

Adventurers may be all tough, but they still expected to be given free items. He looked over the adventurers through the corner of his eye as he pretended to look through another merchant stall. Through his many years of experience, the only time adventures come to small villages like this was to show off and wait to be praised by the villagers carrying free items. They were nothing more than bullies. They picked on the young men and woman who worked hard to become something in the world. No one would miss two adventures if they should go missing. The world had enough as it is. Max left the stall, letting a false sigh of disappointment and walked past the adventures swirling his potion and muttering something under his breath as he carried his supplies back to his cart.

Just as he expected, the adventurers began to follow after him. Max placed his items in his cart and went about his business securing them. When he turned, he faked his surprise when he noticed the adventurers standing there, expectant looks on their faces.

"Can I help you gentlemen with something?" Max asked.

One of the adventures who looked to be a warrior scoffed and looked to his companion dressed in enchanted robes that marked him as a mage.

"Judging by your supplies," the mage said "you're an Alchemist, yes?" the mage asked.

Max nodded, keeping his innocent look, "Do you require elixirs?" he asked.

The Warrior let out a grunt before nodding. Max fakes a heavy sigh and turned to his cart, rummaging through his supplies as he "mixed" them up some potions.

"Don't expect to be paid, my companion and I have a hard time keeping up with our repair bills…" The warrior said in a gruff tone. Max rolled his eyes; all of these adventurers were all the same. He released the stopper from his special potion and poured it in a vial. In truth it was just water he had colored to appear as the elixirs the adventurers asked for.

Max turned to the adventurers, handing them their "elixirs" in which they wasted no time in drinking. Instead of handing the vials back to max, they tossed them over their shoulders. That would have annoyed Max if the adventures weren't starting to look drowsy from the potion's effect.

"I-I don't remember feeling this way with this elixir," the Warrior said as he grabbed onto the mage for support. Max waited only for a few short moments before they had fallen unconscious. With a few quick looks, Max started to move his new test subjects into his cart, covering the contents with a thick blanket before settling in the front. It will be a busy night of testing to see just how resilient these adventurers will be towards his potions. Max had a hard time holding back his sadistic grin. He began to think about restocking his supplies every week if he was going to be lucky enough to capture test subjects of this caliber.


End file.
